


Please Talk To Me...

by amm_amethyst



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt Leo, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Leo Valdez Needs a Hug, Piper McLean is a Good Friend, honestly we need more leo angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24812767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amm_amethyst/pseuds/amm_amethyst
Summary: Leo doesn’t wear short sleeved tops. He doesn’t. Not in front of other people. The only time he wears short sleeves is in the engine room of the Argo II, and no one ever goes down there, right?
Relationships: Piper McLean & Leo Valdez
Comments: 3
Kudos: 168





	Please Talk To Me...

**Author's Note:**

> We’re back with some more Leo angst because I love seeing my boy go through pain. :)
> 
> —————-  
> TW//: mentions of child abuse and self harm? he doesn’t actually do it

It had been a long day on the Argo II, and everyone was understandably exhausted. There had been an uncountable number of monster attacks and everyone was tired. It was a warm day and Leo had made tacos. No one was making any conversation because they were all to tired to talk. 

This day had been especially hard on Leo. It wasn’t like anything happened, but when he woke up he was just, felt empty. The emptiness was a familiar feeling to Leo. The first time he felt it was when he was nine years old, in his second foster home. It was like nothing mattered anymore and that could just, disappear, that he could fade away and no one would notice. The son of Hephaestus had been remembering the parts of his childhood he so desperately wanted to forget. He was thinking about his Aunt Rosa and cousin Raphael, who were rude to him even before his mom died. He was thinking about his many foster homes with terrible, neglectful parents. The times he had been sitting dangerously close to ledges and just, looked down. He wouldn’t have actually jumped off, he was too much of a coward, but he definitely thought...

Leo was so lost in thought he hadn’t even noticed everyone else left. he was looking down at his now cold taco which he threw in the bin. He walked straight down to the engine room, which was basically his cabin at this point. He never slept in his cabin, it was always the engine room, well, when he did sleep. The noise of the machines was calming. 

Leo took off his top. He looked down at his stomach and sighed. Leo looked in the mirror of the engine room and winced as he ran his fingers over old scars. Unlike every other _normal_ demigod, most of Leo’s scars didn’t come from monsters. Well, not actual monsters, but they might as well of been, considering how they treated him. Ms Teresa and Mr James, two of the _worst_ homes he’s ever been in. The reasoning behind his fears of loud voices, tight spaces and why he flinched every time someone goes to give him a high five. 

When he looked down at his arms, self inflicted scar and scratches glaring back at him, the emptiness he felt, turned into a voice. 

_You want to do it again, I know you do._

_You want to feel the knife against your skin._

_You want to feel something._

_Your friends don’t care. They knew something was wrong but they don’t care enough to ask._

_The seventh wheel. Useless._

_Things work better when the seventh wheel is gone._

_You don’t help on this ship, you built it, but they don’t need you anymore._

’Yes they do, I—I can steer the ship.’

_Annabeth can do that, better than you probably._

‘I can—I repair the ship, they need me for that.’

_Be honest with yourself, Annabeth could do that._

‘I cook! I cook for them.’

_Really? That’s the best thing you bring to this ship? Honestly, anyone can cook, it’s not hard._

_There’s a blade on that table there, take it, you know you want to._

Leo hadn’t even noticed he was sitting on the ground as the voice shouted at him. He stood up slowly, almost robotically, and walked towards the table. A spare Camp Half Blood t-shirt and a mini robot sat at either side of it, a small blade. Leo picked it up, studying it underneath the light of the engine room. It was silver, shiny and unused. Such a beautiful blade, that could be used for such terrible things. 

He knew what he was about to do was wrong, but he didn’t care. No one else did, why should he? Leo raised the blade to his arm, about to drag it across when...

”Leo!” 

Leo stumbled and dropped the blade in surprise. He looked towards the door to see his best friend, Piper. She was stood in the doorframe. She wore an oversized red shirt and her hair was in a high ponytail. Piper looked shocked and confused as she looked Leo up and down. Her multicoloured eyes caught on the scars and belt burns on his chest. Leo couldn’t look her in the eyes, ashamed and embarrassed. He hated people seeing him like this, weak and flawed. He hated the pitiful looks he got, and he _hated_ the look she was giving him now. 

“Don’t stare for too long, Jason might get jealous,” he joked, hoping it would distract her and she would _stop looking at him like he was a starving street kid—just stop!_

Piper stood in front of him, looking slightly down. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. Leo reluctantly hugged back, but melted in to her arms, tears streaming down his face. 

“Leo, please, talk to me. Why—Why were you going to—the scars, please—they are not all monsters, are they? Please—Please talk to me.”

She was crying as she spoke. He could tell she wasn’t charm speaking, so she clearly wasn’t going to force him to speak. 

“I—There’s scars from—foster—from foster homes, and—and—the voices were too loud and just—I—“ 

“It’s ok, It’s ok now, i’ve got you, and i’m not ever _ever_ going to leave you. We can talk tomorrow if you want?” 

“I—yeah, yeah that would be nice.” 

“Come sleep in my room, a sleepover, just like the old days.” 

Leo smiled and nodded, still crying. Piper was crying too, but beamed happily at her friend, her _best friend._

Piper grabbed his hand and they walked in a comfortable silence to her room. 

_She’s never leaving, never letting go._

**Author's Note:**

> Did anyone notice the Dear Evan Hansen references?


End file.
